The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-08-12
The Railroads and the Law.

The commission that has the enforce.
ment Of the Inter State Commerce law
in its hands has had time enough to do
something. The Rural has been dis
posed to give it plenty of opportunity
to get into working trim and to do its
duty. 1t has overlooked what, under
ordinary circumstances, would be con-
sidered a dereliction OF duty, becauae
the law was new and the situation nov.
el and somewhat intricate. But we are
forced to the conclusion that the com
mission is either lacking in ability or
honesty, and 80 far as effect is concern
ed, it matters little to the public which
it is. The commission is not the COM
mission that we need, and the senate
ought not to confirm its members, sup
posing that the President shall shut his
eyes to their inefficiency and send in
their names. The presidential cam.
paign is nearing, and we are mistaken
in the temper Of our people ifthey do
not hold Mr.. Cleveland to strict &C.
countability in this matter, If the
names 90 to the senate, it is not i'm
probable that the nominees will be COZ.
firmed, for the people cannot expec.
very much from the class of men who
compose the United States senate.
There are too many Of these men who
have soft place in their hearts for
corporations and monopolists for the
people to expect much from them,
They were driven to pass this law, after
cutting it up and depriving it of some
Of its best features but they may have
counted upon just such commission as
We have got, to save their friends from
any loss. 1t is pretty hard to tell what
is working in the mind and hear: of i
u nited States Senator; and it is hard
to tell after some of them have profess
ed to turn themselves inside out as it
was before.
But the law is not working satisfac
torily to the people, and the commission
is to blame. The purpose of the law
was to bring down rates by evening the
long and short haul rates, if they were
to be evened, downward. When the
law was enacted the roads were charg.
ing more for short hauls than they were
for long haul. 1t is reasonable to sup.
pose that the intention Of the law was
to lower the short haul rates. But in.
stead of doing that the roads have rails
ed the long haul rates. To that extent
the letter of the law has not been vio-
lated, but the spirit has been. Anoth-
er provision of the law, however, has
been clearly violated. 1t is the pro-
vision that all charges shall be REASON
able. Now the fact that the long haul
rates were deemed sufficient before the
enactment of the law, is evidence that
higher rate now is unreasonable. The
English courts Have. held that when
lower rate has been maintained for a
considerable time, it is evidence that
higher rate cannot be considered rea-
sonable. There is another thing that
shows the unreasonableness of present
charges even more distinctly than the
raising Of the long haul rates. That
is the refusal to carry passengers at the
rates at which thousand miles tickets
we're formerly sold. 1t has long been
the practice of the roads to sell thous-
and miles tickets to commercial trav-
elers at the rate Of two cents per mile.
Under the present law, if the CONNER.
cial travellers can buy tickets at this
rate, they must be sold to the general
public at the same rate. But the roads
refuse to sell anybody tickets at the old
thousand mile, rates. Now if they
could afford to carry thousands of peo-
pie at two cents per mile before the
law began to operate, they can afford
to carry everybody at that rate now;
and higher rate is clearly not rea-
sonable rate. But the commission can
not see it in that light. In fact it can
not seem to see anything that the roads
do not want it to see.
Under the law the roads are making
more money than they did before the
law came into existence, and railroad
official said to us the other day that the
roads were overriding the law to their
own advantage. But let no one be so
thoughtless as to demand the repeal Of
the law because it is not enforced. 1t
is perfect folly to demand such thing
while the roads are doing nothing but
trampling on the law. The law is not
perfect. 1t lacks deiniteness, and it
must be improved. But it will benefit
the public if it is enforced, and there is
no sort of reason why it should not be
enforced. No law ever had more pub.
lie sentiment behind it. Nine.tenths
of our people favor the law, and the
people thus united would be very fool
ish to permit the railroads, through
their brazen violation Of law, to disgust
them with law that they pretty nearly
unanimously favor. Instead Of permit
ting any spirit of dissatisfaction with